Distributing device for sorted waste paper



March 1, 1932. N. H. SANDBERG 1,847,264

DISTRIBUTING DEVICE FOR SORTED WASTE PAPER Filed March 22; 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 fife/s H Sana berg Patented Mar. 1, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT? OFFICE NELS H. SANDBERG, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, ASSIGNOR 1'0 WALDORF PAPER PRODUCTS COMPANY, OF ST. IAUL, MINNESOTA, A CORPORATION OF MINNESOTA DISTRIBUTING DEVICE FOR SORTED WASTE PAPER Application filed March 22, 1929. Serial: No. 849,051.

My invention relates to distributing devices for use in sorting waste paper and has for its object to provide a device whereby various gradesof waste paper may be quickly 5 classified and transferred to suitable bins, or

elsewhere, for baling and subsequently converting into paper stock.

An object of the invention resides in providing a device whereby the sorted paper may be quickly disposed of by the sorters and in which the various compartments for the several grades of paper will be readily ascessible to the sorter.

Another feature of the invention resides in constructing the device so as to provide rapid means of removal for the'grades of paper most frequently occurring and less rapid means of removal for the paper less frequently occurring, and in further providing means for the removal of boxes or other bulky forms of waste paper.

A feature of the invention resides in constructing the device with a framework comprising longitudinal front, central and rear frame sections, and in connecting said frame sections transversely at intervals throughout their length.

An object of the invention resides in pro viding near the bottom of said framework a conveyor disposed between the front and central sections and in further providing adjacent said conveyor andbetween said rear and central sections a second conveyor.

A still further object of the invention re- :;5 sides in providing a series ofreceptacles disposed above said first named conveyor and inclining downwardly toward said second conveyor adapted to discharge thereon, said receptacle being open at the frontends there- 40 of and being provided with closures at the discharge ends thereof.

An object of the invention resides in forming said rear frame section with a wall extending from said second named conveyor upwardly, for a portion of the height of said rear frame section to provide a way above said conveyor into which said receptacles are adapted to discharge.

A still further object of the invention resides in spacing said receptacles from said first named conveyor so as tov form another way above said first named conveyor.

An object of the invention resides in at taching a member to said front frame sections adapted to form in. conjunction with u said receptacles a chute leading to the way of said first named conveyor.

A still further object of the invention resides in providing a third conveyor above said receptacles and mounted between said front and rear frame sections, the upper run of said conveyor being exposed to permit of the placing of boxes or other bulky materials thereon.

Other objects of the invention reside in the novel combination of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and illustrated in the drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a rear elevational view of a distributing device illustrating an embodiment of my invention, a portion of the same being cut away to show the interior construction thereof.

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 22 of Fig. 1 and drawn to a slightly larger scale.

In previous methods of sorting waste paper, considerable time was required and a relatively small amount of paper could be sorted and distributed by each sorter. In addition, a great number of attendants were required and a large amount of floor space was necessary. My invention provides a simple and effective device for expeditiously handling the sorted paper whereby the same may be rapidly removed so as to enable the Sorter to handle a large quantity of paper with a minimum amount of effort;

My invention proper consists of a frameworkA in which are supported three conveyors 10, 11 and 12 adapted to remove the various grades of paper as the same are deposited thereon. Above the two conveyors 10 and 11 are disposed a series of upper receptacles 13, and a series of lower receptacles 14 which are adapted to discharge upon the conveyor 11. These conveyors and receptacles serve to handle the paper in a manner to be presently described in detail.

The framework A comprises a longitudinal front frame section 15, a longitudinal central frame section 16 and a longitudinal rear frame section 17. The frame section consists of uprights 18 preferably of channel cross section which are connected together at the upper ends thereof by means of a longitudinally disposed angle 19 and near the lower ends thereof bymeans of a similar lonwhich are connected together near the lower ends thereof by means of a longitudinal angle 22 placed at the same elevation as theangle 21. In addition to this angle an oppositely facing longitudinal angle 24 is employed which is secured to the upright 23 of the central frame section 16 by means of U-shaped clips 25, best shown in Fig. 2. The rear frame section 17 consists of a number of uprights 26 which are bent at 27 and 28 so as to cause the upper portion 29 thereof to be inwardly offset from the major portion of each of said uprights. The upper ends of the upper portions 29of said uprights are connected together by means of a longitudinal angle 30, while a similar longitudinal angle 31 is attached to said uprights near the lowermost portions thereof. The corresponding uprights of the frame sections 15, 16 and 17 are connected together at their lower ends by means of transverse angles 32, which'are riveted to the flanges of said uprights. The upper portions of said frame sections are similarly connected together by means of transverse angles 33 which are attached to said uprights by means of clip angles 34. By means of this construction a rigid frame is provided in which the various conveyors 10, 11 and 12 and the receptacles 13and 14 are supported.

c The conveyor 10 is of the belt type and consists of a flexible belt 35 having an upper run 36 and a lower run 37. This conveyor passes over an end roll 38 disposed at one end of the same and over a similar roll at the other end of said conveyor, not shown in the drawings. The conveyor may be driven in the usual manner through either of these rolls, such construction being well known in the art has not been shown in detail in the drawings. The upper run 36 of the belt 35 is adapted to ride upon the flanges 39 and 40 of the angles 21 and 24 and is supported intermediate its length by means of a number of rollers 41, there being one such roller for each of the uprights 18 and 23. These rollers are rotatably mounted upon a shaft 42 which is threaded at its ends and supported in the U-shaped clips 25 and in the uprights 18. The threaded ends of said shaft have screwed upon them nuts 43 which serve to hold the said shafts immovable. Collars 44 secured to said shafts hold the rollers 41 in position between the two flanges 39 and 40 ofthe angles 24 .and 21s0 that the rollers 41 operate in a manner to support the upper run 36 of the belt in proper horizontal position. The lower run 37 of the belt 35 is similarly supported upon a number of rollers 45 which are similarly journaled and mounted in the clips 25 and the uprights 18.

The conveyor 11 is constructed and supported similarly to the conveyor 10. This conveyor comprises a belt 46 having an upgitudinally disposed angle 21. The central frame section 16 also consists of uprights 23 per run 47 and alower run 48. The upper run 47 rides upon the inwardly extending flanges 49and 50 of the two angles 22 and 31. The said upper run is further supported on rollers 51 which are mounted on shafts 52 similarto the shafts 42 and which are mountedupon and attached to the uprights 26 and 23,- in the-same manner as the said shafts 42. Rollers 53similar to the rollers 45 and mounted in the same manner support the lower run 48 of said belt 46.

The end roller 38 of belt 46 is preferably secured to a shaft 54 which is journaled in bearings, 55 adjustably mounted for longitudinal movement on two brackets 56 secured to the uprights of the rear frame section 17 and the center frame section 16. By means of this construction the tension in the belt 46 may be regulated to meet with operating requirements. The belt 36 of conveyor 10 may be similarly mounted so that the slack therein may be taken up as required.-

The receptacles 13 and 14 are constructed in groups of three which are disposed between the respective uprights of the frame sections 15, 16 and 17. Inasmuch as all of these receptacles are identical in construction, only those between the first two uprights of the device will be described in de tail. These receptacles are formed by means of three longitudinal plates 58, 59 and 60 which are positioned above one another, as best shown in Fig. 2 and which extend from the front frame section 15 to the central frame section 16. At the ends of these plates and at suitable intervals between the ends of these plates are secured thereto partitions 61 and 62 which are formed with flanges 63 by means of which the said partitions and plates may be rigidly attached to one another to form the various compartments constituting said receptacles. These receptacles may be attached to the uprights 18 and 23 through the partitions situated at the ends of the plates 58, 59 and 60 through bolts or rivets 64. The receptacles 13 and 14, are open at the front thereof as indicated at 65 and 66 to permit of inserting the sorted waste paper therein, and extend up to the central frame sections 16. These receptacles are closed at the innerends thereof by means of closures 67 and 68. These various closures are mounted upon casings surrounding the said open ing, which are constructed from a number of vertical angles 69 attached to the various partitions 61 and 62, and connected together by means of a number of longitudinal angles 70, 71 and 72. The various closures 67 and 68 are mounted upon the said casings in a manner now to be described.

Due to the fact that all of the closures for all receptacles are identical in construction, only one of said. closures will be described in detail. This closure comprises a plate 73 which may be constructed of relatively heavy sheet material or which may be constructed of lighter material having the edges thereof bent back to reinforce the same. Said closure is hingedly connected on the left hand side thereof by means of hinges 74 and 75 secured to said closure and to the vertical angles 69 of the casings surrounding the openings to the receptacles 13 and 14. At the center of each of the closures 73 is formed a window 76 covered by a coarse screen 77 by means of which the contents of the said receptacle may be viewed from the exterior. The perforations in the screen 77 also allow the air to escape from the receptacle as the paper is inserted into the same. For latching the closure 73 in place, the same is provided with two latch bars 78 and 79 which are pivotally connected at 80 to the closure proper. These latch bars are slidably mounted in keepers 81 attached to said closure and are adapted to engage with latch lugs 82 attached to the angle 69 of the adjoining receptacle. The two latch bars 7 8 and 79 are simultaneously operable through a link 83 pivotally connected to both of them, which link has a knob 84 or other similar operation device secured thereto. By raising the knob 84 both of the latch bars 78 and 79 may be lifted to disenga e the same from the latch lug 82 whereby the closure 73 may be swung outwardly to permit of the contents of the receptacles 13 and 14 being discharged from the endsof the said receptacles.

The conveyor 12 superimposes the receptacles 13 and 14 and consists of a belt 85 provided with an upper run 86 and a lower run 87 similar to the belts 35 and 46. The edges of this belt ride upon the facing flanges 88 of the angles 19 and 30 which form a part of the front and rear frame sections. Theupper run 86 of the said belt is further supported at intervals throughout its length by means of rollers 89 similar to the rollers 41 and 51, which rollers are rotatably mounted upon shafts 90 secured to the uprights 18 and 26 of the front and rear frame sections. In a similar manner, the lower run 87 of the belt 85 is supported upon rollers 91 to rotatably support in a manner identical with the rollers 45 and 53.

For adjusting the tension of the belt 85, a belt tightener shown in detail in Fig. 1, is employed. This belt tightener'includes two rollers 92 and 93 which are mounted upon shafts 94 and 95 similar to the shaft 90. These shafts are secured to brackets 96 attache'd to the end uprights 57 of the front and rear frame sections. The shaft 94 is rigidly fixed with respect to the said brackets while the shaft 95 is adjustably mount- 7 ed in that the roller 93 may be raised and lowered to provide any degree of tension in the belt proper.

slots97 formed in said brackets so At the lowermost part of the rear frame H section 17 is provided an end wall 98 which commences at the angle 31 and extends up Wardly therefrom for a portion of the height of the uprights 26. This wall may be constructed from sheet metal if desired, and is formed with flanges 99 by means of which the l rear frame section 17 and the conveyor 12, h

and it is to be noted that when the closures 67 and 68 for the receptacles 13 and 14 are swung open the same extend into the said way Where the same do not interfere with the proper operation of the device.

The inclined plate 60 forming the bottom of the receptacles 13 and 14 is preferably disposed in-spaced relation above the upper run 36 of conveyor 35 so as to form a way 101 immediately above the same. The lower portion of the front frame section 15 is provided with a short side wall .102 similarly constructed to the side wall 98 which is formed with an outwardly flaring flange 103. This structure, in conjunction with the bottom 60 of the receptacles 14 provides a chute communicating with the way 101 through which the waste paper may be inserted for removal by the said conveyor 10, the inlet to said chute being designated at 104. From an inspection of Fig. 2, it will be noted that the inlets 65 and 66 to the receptacles 13 and 14 and the inlet 104 to the chute leading to way 101 are disposed one above the other so as to be readily accessible by an operator positioned in front of the device.

At the rear of the device is provided a side wall 105 which is attached to short posts 106 secured to the upper ends 29 of the uprights 26. This wall forms a guard for the rear of the conveyor 12 which is otherwise exposed and particularly above the same so as to provide an unobstructed way 107 immediately above said conveyor.

In the use of the invention, one operator is usually employed for each section of the distributing device between the respective uprights thereof, each operator having within his or her control three receptacles 13 and three receptacles 14. The conveyors 10 and 12 arecontinuously operating, while the conveyor 11 may be continuously Operating or may be operated intermittently as desired. As the operator sorts the paper, the various grades of paper are placed in the various receptacles 13 and 14;, which are properly labeled for each particular grade of paper to be inserted therein. The way 101 is utilized for the grade of paper most frequently occurring in the mass of waste paper to be sorted. The conveyors 10 and 12 are directly connected to the particular bins or other places of storage where the particular kinds of paper carried thereby are desired to be stored. The conveyor 11 is, however, preferably arranged to discharge in any of a number of receptacles or bins corresponding to the kinds of paper included within the various receptacles 13 and 14. The conveyor 12 is utilized for boxes and other bulky and awkward paper products which is'purposely left exposed on the top to permit of the ready conveying of such articles from the sorter. One attendant usually can take care of a great number of sorters and the said attendant merely travels from one section to the next and releases the paper confined within the various receptacles 18 and 14: causing the same to discharge upon the conveyor 11.

With my invention, aminimum amount of labor is required to sort and distribute waste paper used in the production of paper stock or for other purposes. The sorter can handle a considerably greater quantity of paper per day than with the old methods and considerably less labor is required than heretofore. The paper is rapidly removed so that interruption is entirely eliminated. A great number of sorters may be closely positioned so that a maximum amount of paper may be handled upon a given floor area. The device can be constructed at an economical cost and the cost of operation is exceedingly small so that the ultimate cost of sorting the paper is considerably less than has heretofore been possible with the ordinary methods available. .The device will not readily get out of order and the operating parts are so guarded and concealed as to practically eliminate danger to the sorter or attendant.

Changes in the specific form of my invention, as herein disclosed, may be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A distributing device comprising a conveyor, a plurality of receptacles arranged along said conveyor, means for selectively discharging from said receptacles upon said conveyor a second conveyor and a chute connected with said second conveyor and extending throughout the length thereof, the inlet to said chute and the inlets to said receptacles being disposed in close proximity to one another.

2. A distrlbuting. device comprlsing a framework, a pair of conveyors disposed side I conveyor to provide space for the carriage of commodities carried by said conveyor, and a member attached to said framework and forming in conjunction with said receptacles a chute leading upon said first named con- 8. A' distributing device comprising a framework, a pair of conveyors disposed side by ide at the lower port-ion of said framework, a series of receptacles superimposing one of said conveyors and extending from one side of said framework to the middle thereof and adapted to discharge upon the second of second conveyors, said receptacles being open at the front thereof, closures for closing the discharge ends of said receptacles, said receptacles being inclined and extending upwardly from the second conveyor toward the front of the device and'forming a space above said first named conveyor, and a member connected to said framework and forming in conjunction with the inclined portion of said receptacles a chute leading to the space above said first named conveyor.

4. A distributing device comprising a framework including longitudinal front, center, and rear frame sections, means for transversely connecting said longitudinal sections together at intervals throughout their length,

a conveyor disposed near the bottom of said framework between said front and central frame sections, a second conveyor disposed near the bottom of said framework between said central and rear frame sections, a plurality of receptacles mounted between said front and central frame sections and being inclined downwardly toward said second named conveyor, said receptacles being open at the front, closures for the discharge ends of said receptacles, a wall attached to said rear frame sectioncommencing at said second named conveyor and extending upwardly for a portion of the height of said rear frame section to provide a way above said second named conveyor, said receptacles being adapted to discharge into said way, said receptacles being spaced above said first named conveyor to form a way above said first named conveyor, and a member connected to the front frame section and forming in conjunction veyor and coextensive with the length there- I with said receptacles a chute leading into the way of said first named conveyor.

5. A distributing device comprising a framework including longitudinal front, center and rear frame sections, means for transversely connecting said longitudinal sections together at intervals throughout their length, a conveyor disposed near the bottom of said framework between said front and central frame sections, a second conveyor disposed near the bottom of said framework between said central and rear frame sections, a plurality of receptacles mounted between said front and central frame sections and being inclined downwardly toward said second named conveyor, said receptacles being open at the front, closures for the discharge ends of said receptacles, a wall attached to said rear frame section commencing at said second named conveyor and extending upwardly for a portion of the height of said rear frame section to provide a way above said second named conveyor, said receptacles being adapted to discharge into said Way, said receptacles being spaced above said first named conveyor to form a way above said first named conveyor, and a member connected to the front frame section and forming in conjunction with said receptacles a chute leading into the way of said first named conveyor, and a third conveyor superimposing said receptacles and mounted upon said front and rear frame sections, and the upper run of said last named conveyor being disposed to provide an unconfined way thereabove.

6. A distributing device comprising a conveyor, a plurality of receptacles arranged adjacent one another and extending in an uninterrupted row along said conveyor, a second conveyor disposed adjacent said first named conveyor, and a chute following along said second conveyor and continuous throughout its extent for discharging upon said second conveyor, the inlet to said chute and the inlets to said receptacles being disposed in close proximity to one another.

7 A distributing device comprising a con veyor, a plurality of receptacles arranged along said conveyor, said receptacles having vertically disposed inlets, a second conveyor disposed adjacent said first named conveyor, a chute following along said second named conveyor, said chute having a vertically arranged inlet, the inlet to said chute and the inlets to said receptacle being disposed in close proximity to one another.

8. A distributing device comprising a conveyor, a chute positioned above said conveyor and discharging thereon, a vertically disposed inlet for said chute, the inlet to said chute being disposed along one side of said conveyor, a second conveyor disposed along said first named. conveyor, and a plu rality of receptacles disposed above said chute and discharging upon said second named conveyor, said receptacleshaving vertically disposed inlets superimposing the inlet to said chute.

9. A distributing device comprising a pair of conveyors, a plurality of receptacles superimposing one of said conveyors and adapted to discharge upon the other, said receptacleshaving inlets accessible from one side of said conveyors, a third conveyor superimposing said receptacles, said third conveyor and said first conveyor being accessible throughout their lengths along the sides thereof corresponding to the inlets for said receptacles.

10. A distributing device comprising a conveyor accessible along one edge thereof, a plurality of receptacles superimposing said conveyor and having inlets accessible from the same side of said distributing device as the accessible edge of said conveyor, a second conveyor positioned adjacent said first conveyor upon which said receptacles may discharge, and a third conveyor superimposing said receptacles, said third conveyor being accessible along the edge thereof situated at the same side of said distributing device as the accessible edge of said first conveyor.

11. A distributing device comprising a conveyor accessible along one edge thereof, a plurality of receptacles superimposing said conveyor and having inlets disposed immediately above the accessible edge of said conveyor, a second conveyor disposed adjacent said first conveyor upon which said receptacles may discharge, and a third conveyor provided with an accessible edge and superimposing said receptacles, the accessible edge of said third conveyor being immediately above the accessible edge of said first named conveyor.

12. A distributing device comprising a front and a rear conveyor disposed adjacent one another, a plurality of receptacles disposed above said front conveyor and being inclined downwardly toward said rear conveyor, said receptacles being open along the upper ends thereof, a wall extending upwardly in proximity to the rear edge of the rear conveyor to form a Way along said rear conveyor, said receptacles being adapted to discharge into said way, said receptacles being spaced above said front conveyor to form a way above said front conveyor, and means forming in conjunction with said receptacles a chute leading into said second named Way.

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature to this specification.

NELS H. SANDBERG. 

